Apparatus, system and method adapted to enable automated wire reading and manufacture of wire harnesses

ABSTRACT

The device, system and process of the present invention greatly reduces the time and space necessary to assemble a wire harness enables efficient manufacture of wire harnesses. The present invention comprises at least a wire viewer module, a machine vision and optical character recognition module, a cassette tray platform, designed to receive and hold in place a cassette tray, having one or more receptacles designed to receive and hold in place a wire harness connector, having multiple pin-hole cavities illuminated from below or behind by a light source mounted on a two-axis translation stage or gantry to identify a cavity for wire insertion. Moreover, the present invention may further comprise a portable, computer-implemented system capable of executing a series of automated process steps designed to identify wire markings and guide the error-free insertion of identified wires into wire harness connector pin-hole receptacles for assembly of a wire harness.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a non-provisional of and claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) of the earlier filing date of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/599,785, filed on Dec. 17, 2017, which is herebyincorporated in entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present invention relates to the efficient manufacture of wireharnesses and cable assemblies. Specifically, the present inventiongreatly reduces the amount of physical space and length of time requiredto assemble a wire harness. More specifically, in a preferredembodiment, the apparatus of the present invention may be a portable,computer-implemented system capable of executing a series of automatedprocess steps designed to identify wire markings and guide theerror-free insertion of identified wires into a connector for assemblyof a wire harness.

2. Description of Related Art

Wire harnesses and cable assemblies continue to be manufacturedprimarily by hand, in part due to the great number of differentprocessing steps involved and the complexity of the tasks required,which make automation of these processes and tasks a challengingproposition. The wire harness manufacturing process essentiallycomprises identifying and inserting wires into the designated specificpin-holes of a wire harness connector. Consider, for instance, theAmphenol MIL-DTL-38999 connector, which has 128 sockets or pin-holereceptacles, alternatively referred to herein as pin-hole cavities, in aspace less than 2 inches in diameter. Inserting 128 wires, pins orstoppers/seals into their matching pin-hole cavities without any opens,shorts or mis-wires (i.e., insertions in an incorrect pin-hole) takesconsiderable skill and time. The task has become even more difficult andsusceptible to more mis-insertions with the increasing use of thinnerwires such as 26AWG and dense connectors such as Amphenol 2M805connectors which are about 16% smaller than the corresponding standardconnectors.

The conventional methods for performing the hand-assembly of wireharnesses typically require a specialized work bench and instrumentationor often a special wiring routing map layout on up to 25-foot wide formboards placed horizontal or at an incline. Several technologicalsolutions exist to aide in the process of harness connector assembly.Using magnifiers, lamps, lasers, optical fibers and real-time video,these technologies aide in guiding assemblers step-by-step through thewire harness assembly process, with the aim to achieve insertion ofwires into the correct pin-hole receptacles in their first attempt andthereby to avoid mis-wiring and consequent unnecessary andtime-consuming rework to correct the insertion errors.

CAMI Research developed the Light Director® system (U.S. Pat. Nos.4,988,980 and 5,280,251), which uses a custom-built pack of opticalfibers and LED lamps to individually illuminate target pin-holes in theconnector being populated with wires. A required accessory for thecompany's CableEye® PC-based cable-test system, customers must alsopurchase a mounting kit from CAMI for each mating connector thatcontains a CableEye plug-in board with LED sockets that attach to thetester, optical fibers, fiber guide boards, a connector support boardand a hardware kit in order to create a customized assembly aid for eachconnector.

Customers must then put together all of these parts in the correctconfiguration for the specific connector that is being assembled. And,although some of the parts may be reusable, assembly of the LightDirector system requires a lot of upfront labor and integration time(and thus, cost) just to complete the preliminary set up required foreach connector, making the harness assembly a slow and expensivemanufacturing process.

The connector being assembled (i.e., being populated with wireterminations) is attached to a mating connector in which all pin-holepositions have been fitted with individual optical fibers. Before a wirecan be inserted, its code must be manually read and typed into thecomputer by the assembler. The Light Director then announces thecorresponding pin number in English or Spanish. The correspondingoptical fiber is illuminated, causing a bright, flashing light toproject from inside the correct target pin-hole, assuming the customerhas correctly wired the optical fibers between the mating connector andthe LED sockets. However, a customized mating connector must beconstructed for each connector being populated, an expensive additionalcost. Moreover, it is noted that the commercial aviation industry aloneuses tens of thousands of connectors, thus making Light Director systeman expensive proposition.

The Light Director system confirms insertion in the correct pin-hole byblocking of the bottom-projected light from that pin-hole location intowhich a wire has been inserted; whereas, in contrast, insertion into anincorrect location leaves the flashing light visible. In addition, ifthe other end of the wire is available to be connected to the CableEyesystem, electronic testing software can confirm correct placement of thewire in the connector through the creation of an electrical circuit,only if the wire is inserted into the designated pin-hole cavity.

Another device, patented by Boeing, and commercialized in collaborationwith Chad Industries Inc., the HarnessMate® has two key components: aprogrammable pointer and a universal connector chuck. The pointer movesa laser dot over a 4 inch by 4 inch (16 square inch) working area abovethe connector to point top-down at the correct pin-hole to guideinsertion of wires, pins or seal plugs. The universal chuck accuratelypositions and grips any square, rectangular or circularly shapedconnectors from ⅝ inch to 3 inches in dimension.

This system also features a user-programmable database to storeinformation on customer desired connector assemblies. The software alsoprovides a visual representation of the connector and controls the laserpointer that indicates where plugs, pins or wires should be inserted.After selecting a connector assembly from the database, the assemblersecures the proper connector in the chuck. Next, wire marking labelinformation for the wire must be entered into the computer via bar code,optical character recognition or direct keyboard input.

In response, the software references the corresponding database anddirects a laser dot from above at the specific cavity where the wire isto be inserted. The assembler performs the insertion, and the processrepeats for each wire. The HarnessMate provides the flexibility toassemble entire harnesses but does not provide electronic verificationof correct wire insertion. Also, the highlighting of specific pincavities rapidly becomes progressively more difficult as the number ofwires inserted into the connector increases because the inserted wires,like wet spaghetti strands, spill over and crowd the face of theconnector, thus preventing the user from clearly observing the laser dotlighting within the specified pin cavity.

Another system that provides guided connector assembly is the CirrisSystems Corp. Pin-Sight, which is compatible with circular, square orrectangle connectors up to 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches. An adapter forlarger connectors lets assemblers expand the working area horizontally.No mating connectors or wired mating interface, such as the CAMICableEye, are required, resulting in shorter setup and changeover times.The computer-based product comes with a CCD camera, mounting vice, forceand sense gauge, and software. A barcode scanner and mini keyboard areoptional, for manual input of wire IDs.

After turning on the Pin-Sight computer, the assembler locks theconnector into place and aligns it using two target pin-hole cavities,as specified by the software. The camera then takes a digital picture ofthe connector and displays a close-up image of it on the computermonitor. Depending on the application, seal plugs might need to beinserted prior to wire insertion. If pins are also required, plugs andpins are programmed in groups.

On the connector close-up displayed on the computer monitor, targetcircles are shown around each pin-hole cavity that is to receive a wireor a stopper. Before a wire can be inserted, the assembler must enterthe wire's marking label information into the computer by typing it on akeyboard, speaking it into a microphone, or scanning a bar code.Pin-Sight then announces the wire color and pin-hole location, andprovides, in the upper-right-hand corner of the computer screen, aclose-up of the specific cavity where the wire should be inserted.

The assembler locates the pin-hole, using the visual aid, inserts thewire and pulls back on it with enough force to ensure it is locked in.An on-screen gauge indicates the amount of force. When the contactretention is correct, Pin-Sight makes a “ding” sound. The assemblerrepeats the process for each wire until a tone is heard, indicating theconnector is full. To enhance accuracy, a video feed shows each plug,pin and wire being inserted in real time—even when the connector isnearly filled. By showing the video over the connector image, Pin-Sightcreates a ghosting effect that lets the assembler “see through” his handand also the inserted plugs and wires. However, the jumble of visualimagery can make it difficult to discern exactly what the user isseeing. In addition, as of 2016 Cirris discontinued the Pin-Sightproduct due to lack of user and market acceptance.

One of the biggest problems in harness building is mis-wiring individualwires in the connector pin locations, which necessitates considerablerework and additional cost. None of the systems or devices included inthe prior art discussed above entirely eliminates the problem ofmis-wiring. Thus, it is desirable to have an improved system and processthat is faster, more efficient and accurate, and capable of furthereliminating unnecessary rework and additional costs associated withmis-wiring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following is a summary of the invention in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is notintended to identify all key or critical elements of the invention or todelineate the entire scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a preludeto the more detailed description that is presented later.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included inat least one embodiment of claimed subject matter. Thus, appearances ofphrases such as “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment. Furthermore, particular features, structures, orcharacteristics may be combined in one or more embodiments.

This present invention relates to a system and process for building wireharnesses or cable assemblies. Specifically, the system facilitatesassembly of a wire harness, including insertion of wires or wire tipsinto corresponding connector pin-hole receptacles. Further, the systemcomprises 1) a computer, including computer memories, computerprocessors, displays, and data inputs and data outputs, 2) a wiremarking reader connected to the computer data inputs and data outputs,which detects colors and pattern markings on a wire covering such asinsulation or sleeve, etc., creates and sends a data set describing thecolors and patterns detected to the computer data input, and wherein thecomputer identifies wires based on the colors and the pattern markingsdetected on the wire covering, 3) a cassette tray equipped with harnessconnector receptacles configured to hold a harness connector plug orsocket, 4) means to hold harness connectors in place within the harnessconnector receptacles of the cassette tray, 5) a two-axis translationstage (i.e., a gantry) connected to the computer data inputs and dataoutputs, wherein the translation stage is located below the harnessconnector cassette tray in the sub-surface compartment, and it sendsdata sets indicating past, present or future translation stage locationto the computer data input, 6) at least one light source mounted on thecarriage of the two-axis translation stage, wherein the computercontrols the translation stage and precisely positions it and the lightsource(s) beneath exact pin-hole receptacles of the connectorcorresponding to identified wires, and wherein the computer switches thelight sources on and off to illuminate the pin-hole receptacles frombelow as an indication of and guide to where to insert the wire or wiretip.

In a preferred embodiment, the system is contained within a carryingcase. In a further preferred embodiment, the case or container includesa top cover that holds a computer or tablet computer display screen andwherein the case or container also includes a cassette tray holder thatholds multiple cassette trays. The system may further include a harnessconnector clamp configured to lock a harness connector in place within aharness connector receptacle of the cassette tray. In alternativepreferred embodiments, the cassette tray platform, a cassette tray andthe two-axis translation stage (i.e., gantry) may be integrated into aseparate, independent module, which we refer to herein as an “insertionstage” for easy reference, that is connected to the other unbundledcomponents of the present invention.

The process of the present invention facilitates assembly of a wireharness, including insertion of wires or wire tips into appropriateharness connector pin-hole receptacles, implemented by acomputer-enabled system. This process comprises the steps of storing andmaintaining a database on a non-transitory computer readable mediumconnected to a computer, wherein the information contained in thedatabase includes wire harness IDs, harness connector IDs, cassette trayIDs, wire IDs, colors and pattern wire marking identifiers included onwire coverings, pin-hole receptacle IDs, pin-hole receptacle XYcoordinates, pin-hole wire connections, user credentials and wireharness job tables.

The non-transitory computer readable medium also contains a set ofprocess instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause thesystem to implement, at a minimum, the following steps: 1) prompting auser to log in to the system, using the user credentials, 2) promptingthe user to enter a wire harness ID for a wire harness the user needs tobuild, 3) registering the entered wire harness ID, 4) establishing awire harness job table including the set of discrete tasks required tocomplete the wire harness, 5) identifying a harness connector IDcorresponding to the selected wire harness ID, wherein the harnessconnector has (n) number of pin-hole receptacles, 6) identifying acassette tray ID, equipped with one or more harness connector receptaclecavities, each harness connector receptacle configured to hold a harnessconnector (plug or socket), corresponding to the selected wire harnessID, 7) prompting the user to retrieve the identified cassette tray, toplace the cassette tray in a cassette tray platform located above atwo-axis translation stage, to retrieve the identified harness connectorand to place the harness connector in the appropriate harness connectorreceptacle of the cassette tray, 8) identifying a set of (x) number ofwire IDs corresponding to (x) number of wires included in the wireharness and loading into the wire harness job table at least the set ofwire IDs, a set of wire marking identifiers including one or more ofcolor and pattern markings, a set of pin-hole receptacle IDs and a setof pin-hole receptacle XY coordinates corresponding to the entered wireharness ID, and 9) iterating the following instruction set until allwires have been correctly inserted into their respective pin-holereceptacles (cavities) in the harness connector: 10) prompting the userto insert a wire into a wire marking reader, having data input and dataoutput connections to the computer, 11) detecting by the wire markingreader, one or more of a color and a pattern marking included on a wirecovering inserted into the wire marking reader, 12) sending from thewire marking reader to one or more computer data inputs a data setdescribing the one or more colors and markings/patterns detected, 13)determining a wire ID, based on one or more of the color and patternmarkings detected, 14) determining the pin-hole receptacle cavity ID andthe set of XY coordinates for the pin-hole receptacle ID correspondingto the wire ID for the wire that will be inserted into the respectivepin-hole receptacle, 15) moving the translation stage from the presentposition to a position corresponding to the XY coordinates for therespective pin-hole receptacle, 16) switching on one or more lightsources mounted on the translation stage, wherein the one or more lightsources are configured to illuminate from below the respective pin-holereceptacle, 17) prompting the user to insert the wire into therespective illuminated pin-hole receptacle, 18) marking the task ofinserting the wire into its respective pin-hole receptacle as completedin the wire harness job table, 19) confirming whether there are anyremaining wire IDs corresponding to pin-hole receptacles that still needto have a wire inserted and, if so, 20) prompting the user to insertanother wire into the wire marking reader and continuing to iterate thisset of instructions and, if not, 21) marking the wire harness job ascompleted in the wire harness job table.

The database may further include pin-hole receptacle IDs for blockedpin-hole connections, and the process may further include the steps of:22) iterating the following instruction set until all stoppers have beencorrectly inserted into their respective blocked pin-hole receptacles inthe harness connector: 23) identifying one or more pin-hole receptacleIDs corresponding to up to (n−x) number of blocked pin-hole receptaclesdetermined by the selected wire harness ID, where ‘n’ is the number ofpin-hole cavities included in the connector and ‘x’ is the number ofwires required for the selected harness connector, 24) determining thepin-hole receptacle ID and a corresponding set of XY coordinates for thepin-hole receptacle ID for a blocked pin-hole receptacle, 25) moving thetranslation stage from the present position to a position correspondingto the XY coordinates for the respective blocked pin-hole receptacle,26) switching on one or more light sources mounted on the translationstage, wherein the one or more light sources are configured toilluminate from below the respective pin-hole receptacle to be blocked,27) prompting the user to insert stopper into the respective illuminatedpin-hole receptacle, 28) marking the task of inserting the stopper intoits respective pin-hole receptacle as completed in the wire harness jobtable, 29) confirming whether there are any remaining pin-holereceptacle IDs corresponding to pin-hole receptacles that still need tohave a stopper inserted and, if so, continuing to iterate this set ofinstructions and, if not, marking the task of blocking the blockedpin-hole receptacles as completed in the wire harness job table.

In a preferred embodiment, the process may further include the step ofprompting the user to confirm that they have placed the identifiedcassette tray in the cassette tray platform and the identified harnessconnector in the appropriate harness connector receptacle of thecassette tray. The process may also further include the steps ofconfirming whether the wire ID of the wire inserted into the wiremarking reader corresponds to a wire ID included in the wire harness jobtable, and if the wire ID cannot be determined based on the wire harnessjob table, indicating the wire as non-compliant for the present wireharness job.

Moreover, the process may further include automated diagnostics,performed by implementing the steps of prompting the user to insert thewire into the respective illuminated pin-hole receptacle cavity in theconnector and to confirm when insertion is complete, and determiningwhether insertion of the wire into the respective illuminated pin-holereceptacle has been completed using a sensor mounted on the translationstage and configured to detect a reflection of light from the wire orwire tip inserted into the illuminated pin-hole receptacle.

These and other aspects of the present invention are realized in asystem and method as shown and described in the following FIGs andrelated description. Additional features and advantages of the inventionwill be set forth in the detailed description which follows, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate byway of example, the features of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention are shown and described inreference to the numbered drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a photo of a user employing the system.

FIG. 2 depicts a view of the visible system components, contained withina carrying case.

FIG. 3 depicts another view of the system components, contained withinthe carrying case.

FIG. 4 depicts some of the optional system accessories, exemplified hereby a foot pedal and keyboard.

FIG. 5 depicts a close up top-down view of the cassette tray platformwith the central locating pin, the indexing pin, and the cut-out throughwhich the light source illuminates the back side of a harness connector.

FIG. 6 depicts a cassette tray having female slot or notch receptaclesthat correspond to matching rib or tab male harness connector lockingmechanisms.

FIG. 7 depicts a corresponding male harness connector locking mechanismcomprising several smaller tabs or ribs and one large tab or rib thatmatches the slot or notch of the female harness connector receptacleshown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 depicts a cassette tray having male rib or tab receptacles thatcorrespond to matching slot or notch female harness connector lockingmechanisms.

FIG. 9 depicts a corresponding female harness connector lockingmechanism comprising several smaller slots or notches and one large slotor notch that matches the rib or tab of the male harness connectorreceptacle shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 depicts an interior (sub-surface) view of the carrying case,including some of the system internal components not readily visible tothe user.

FIG. 11 depicts a top-down view of a harness connector, with a pin-holereceptacle illuminated from behind or below.

FIG. 12 depicts another top-down view of a harness connector, with adifferent pin-hole receptacle illuminated from behind or below.

FIG. 13 depicts a close-up perspective view of the two-axis translationstage or gantry, in the interior of the carrying case.

FIG. 14 depicts another close-up perspective of the two-axis translationstage or gantry, in the interior of the carrying case.

FIG. 15 depicts a top-down schematic view of the interior of thecarrying case, including most of the system internal components.

FIG. 16 depicts a close-up, top-down schematic view of the two-axistranslation stage or gantry, in the interior of the carrying case.

FIG. 17 depicts a close-up, top-down view of the cassette tray holderand the multi-use storage area.

It will be appreciated that the drawings are for illustrative purposesonly and not limiting of the scope of the invention which is defined bythe appended claims. The embodiments shown accomplish various aspectsand objects of the invention. It is appreciated that it is not possibleto clearly show each element and aspect of the invention in a singleFIG, and as such, multiple FIGs are presented to separately illustratethe various details of the invention in greater clarity. Similarly, notevery embodiment need accomplish all advantages of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention and accompanying drawings will now be discussed so as toenable one skilled in the art to practice the present invention. These,and other, aspects and objects of the present invention will be betterappreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with thefollowing description along with the accompanying drawings.

It should be understood, however, that the following description, whileindicating preferred embodiments of the present invention and numerousspecific details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not oflimitation. The drawings and following description are exemplary ofvarious aspects of the invention and are not intended to narrow thescope of the appended claims.

Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of thepresent invention without departing from the spirit thereof and theinvention includes all such modifications. For instance, although thedetailed description deals primarily with systems and processes forbuilding wire harnesses or cable assemblies for aviation applications,it should be understood that such systems and processes apply equally aswell to automotive, computer, architectural, marine vessel, satelliteand other applications requiring assembly of wire harnesses.

Wire harnesses are essentially bundles of wires. Wire harness connectorshave pin-hole receptacles (cavities) into which wire tips or wire pinsat one end of a wire are inserted. Not all of the wires in a particularwire harness terminate at the same harness connectors. In largeaircraft, such as the Boeing 747 or the Airbus 380, there are hundredsof miles of wire and hundreds or thousands of different types and sizesof harness connectors.

In many cases, one end of wire is terminated in the wire connector onthe production line shop floor of the wire harness manufacturer whilethe other end of the wire is left to be terminated in a correspondingwire connector at the appropriate location, such as inside the aircraft.The apparatus and system of the present method have an advantage inportability in that it can be packed into a single carrying case foreasy transportation, set-up and tear-down within the aircraft duringwire insertion or its components may be used individually or incombination.

Wire harnesses and cable assemblies continue to be manufacturedprimarily by hand. The many different processes involved, and thecomplexity of the tasks required make automation of these processes andtasks a challenging proposition. Some wire harness connectors make forextremely complex assembly, such as the Amphenol MIL-DTL-38999 with asmany as 128 pin-cavities in an area less than 2 inches in diameter.Inserting 128 wires, pins or seals into their matching pin-hole cavitieswithout any opens, shorts or mis-wires takes considerable skill andtime. Conventional methods for performing the hand-manufacture of wireharnesses typically require a specialized work bench or form board(sometimes also called Vertical boards or A-frame) and instrumentation.

Conventional systems and processes for building wire harnesses and cableassemblies often fail to provide sufficiently clear indication ormarking of a pin-hole receptacle for wire insertion, and they also failto determine if that wires or wire tips are inserted into the correctpin-cavity receptacles.

Conventional wire insertion systems employ techniques, such as topsideillumination of the pin-hole receptacle using a laser or graphicalindicator overlays within a video image of the harness connector. Thesesystems do not provide sufficiently clear indication of the correctpin-hole receptacle because previously inserted wires may block thetopside laser from illuminating the correct pin-hole cavity and theyalso can make images with graphical indicator overlays confusing.

In addition, when the user begins to move the wire tip or wire pin intoplace, their hand or wire will necessarily block any topsideillumination, at least momentarily, prior to insertion, resulting inincomplete reduction in human error—for instance, if and when thetopside laser is blocked, the user may fail to identify or locateexactly which pin-hole receptacle had been illuminated.

The apparatus, system and process of the present invention greatlyfacilitates an efficient insertion/termination of wire into theconnector and thus reduce the amount of time required in various modesof harness assembly: on a work bench within limited physical space, on aform board (also known as Vertical Board or A-frame), or inside thestructure such as an aircraft, ship, or a submarine where the harnesswould be installed. More specifically, in preferred embodiments, theapparatus of the present invention is (a) contained within a compactcarrying case (molded, watertight and portable) for safe and easytransport, set-up and break-down or (b) hand-held for portability. Anintegrated, computer-implemented system executes a series of processsteps designed to automate the identification of wires and guide theirerror-free insertion into designated sites in a connector to assemble awire harness and thereby reduce the amount of time necessary forassembly of the wire harness. In working with form board assisted wireharness assembly, i.e., a Vertical Board or A-frame, a preferredembodiment of the present invention includes a separate, independentinsertion stage module that may be employed by a wire harness worker intight spaces, such as with in-situ assembly within an airplane fuselage,and which is connected to the other unbundled components of the presentinvention.

The present invention ensures that illumination of the pin-hole cavityindicated for wire insertion is not blocked by the user's hands orpreviously inserted wires by illuminating the pin-hole receptacle frombelow. Only one system in the prior art, the CAMI Research LightDirector system, also provides illumination of the pin-hole receptaclefrom below. However, the CAMI system relies on custom-built device, inwhich optical fibers must be correctly affixed to the underside of thecorrect pin-hole, effectively duplicating the wiring work, just withoptical fibers rather than electrical wires. The CAMI system alsorequires a custom-built fixture to be fabricated for each connectortype, which is a very expensive proposition because, for example, acommercial airplane can have hundreds or thousands of connector types.

Further, many conventional systems still require manual or other userinput of a wire ID, such as manually reading alphanumeric wire ID andthen typing onto a keyboard or speaking the wire ID into a microphone,in order to identify the corresponding pin-hole receptacle for wireinsertion both of which involve human intervention which is slower andprone to errors such as typos. Other systems enable automatic entry ofwire ID, such as through bar-code scanning.

Moreover, even though optical character recognition (OCR) has not beenincorporated into any known prior art systems discussed above, OCR is aknown and convenient means of machine reading. And to the best of ourknowledge, we are the first group to have integrated OCR into automatedwire ID reading and capture, and also for wire harness assembly. Ourefforts to do so have had to overcome many technical challenges on thepath to successful integration.

One of the primary challenges faced by conventional optical characterscanners is correctly reading alphanumeric characters that are printedon a round wire surface, especially for higher-gauge, thinner-diameterwires. This is because the full dimension of the alphanumeric charactersextends beyond the horizon or curvature of the wire. In fact,improvements in wire manufacture are driving two current industry trendsin aerospace and aviation: 1) for the same wire gauge (AWG), newer wireconstructions have more efficient, thinner insulation, and consequentlythinner outside diameters; and 2) increasing use of higher AWG wires,which have a thinner cross-sectional diameter of the metal or conductor,to further reduce total weight of the entire wire infrastructure.Currently, 24-gauge wire is the thinnest diameter wire, at just barelyover 0.5 mm diameter. However, industry has started using 26- and28-gauge wires, with diameters of just 0.40 and 0.32 mm, respectively.This change will reduce the fixed tare (i.e., empty) weight of anaircraft by thousands of pounds, a much-desired technologicalimprovement, but one which also results in wire markings that are moreintractable to machine vision and OCR solutions.

Also confronting this technological advancement is the analogouschallenge that the thinner the wire, the greater the rate of human errorin reading the wire markings, thus making a machine vision and OCRsolutions all the more important and desirable. For these higher gaugewires, as previously discussed, the full dimension of the markings arenot entirely contained within one single 120-degree view but invariablyspill over the horizon of the curvature of the wire (“the horizon”).This means that the wire must be rotated to fully read it with the humaneye, even when using visual aids such as magnifiers. Machine vision andOCR wiremarking reading accuracy may be further improved by using OCRfonts, such as OCR-A and OCR-B; however, these specialized fonts do nothelp overcome the challenges associated with standard machine vision andreading of alphanumeric characters printed on the highly-curved surfacesof thin wires.

For these higher-gauge, smaller-diameter, thinner wires, manuallyreading alphanumeric characters becomes progressively more challenging.Differences between the characters ‘5’ (five) and ‘S’, ‘3’ (three) or‘8’ (eight) and ‘B’, ‘1’ (one) and ‘0’ (zero) and ‘D’ and between ‘2’(two) and ‘Z’ can be especially difficult to distinguish. On average, ittakes a wire harness worker approximately 2.5 to 3 minutes per wireto 1) read the wire marking by eye, 2) then type the wire marking intothe computer, 3) for the computer to match the wire marking with thedatabase wire ID and a pin-hole receptacle ID. Then the worker takesanother 2 minutes to locate the pin-cavity in the connector, and tofinally place the wire tip or wire pin into the correct pin-holereceptacle. The total time per wire end may thus be 3 to 5 minutes.

With conventional systems, per current industry norm, error rates forwire mis-insertion are between eight percent (8%) and twelve percent(12%). And, because wire tips or wire pins must lock into a pin-hole inthe connector when they are inserted, rework time for correcting suchmistakes can take between five times (5×) to ten times (10×) longer thanan initial correct insertion. This means that it can take upwards of10-15 minutes, and easily longer, to fix one misplaced wire. Furtheraggravating the problem with conventional systems, it is not unusual fora single error in wire placement to have cascading effects, resulting inmany misplaced wires in a single harness connector. These cascadingerrors can quickly add up to make production of the wire harness anegative profits exercise.

To overcome these challenges faced by conventional systems, the viewerof the present invention provides a full 360-degree view around thewire. Individual 120-degree views are insufficient, so the systemintegrates three or more independent camera images on the image plane ofthe camera, each viewing the wire from a different angle of observation,to provide a full 360-degree view by combination of the three or moresegmented views, as depicted in FIG. 1. The top view in FIG. 1 depictsthe reassembled image obtained by combining three or more separate viewsof the wire markings. And, the bottom view in FIG. 1 depicts a whitelettering on black background machine vision optical characterrecognition (OCR) of the wire markings, as imaged using three or moreindividual camera angles and image capture devices.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the apparatus and system 10 of the presentinvention are capable of being contained entirely within a case or box12 and top cover 14, such as a pelican case or other portable carryingcase. However, but the system 10 may also be implemented as separate,independent modular components, that remain interconnected but in anunbundled physical format. In a preferred embodiment, the carrying caseis ruggedized and equipped with a watertight seal to preventinfiltration of water and dust particles.

The computer 16 is responsible for displaying, connecting the componentsof the system, integrating the data generated by various systemcomponents and sending data and commands to various system components,as well as implementing the process of the present invention, may behoused within the top cover 14 of the case or box 12, as shown in FIGS.1-3. As used in this patent application, computer shall be defined toinclude server computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tabletcomputers, smartphones and all other types of stationary and mobilecomputers, especially computers that are highly interconnected throughwireless means, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular, satellite and otherwireless networks.

As shown in FIG. 4, a keyboard 6 and/or mouse may also be included inthe carrying case. Specifically, the keyboard 6 may be stored behind thecomputer 16 in the top cover 14, as shown in FIG. 4. A foot switch 4 canalso be connected to the system for added functionality.

The invention may further include various attachment mechanisms enabledto secure the computer 16 to the top cover 14, such as switch tab locks18 and supporting rigid clamp 20, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Further, thecomputer must have a power source or a connection to a power source 22and one or more data input and data output ports 24 to enable thecomputer to connect the system components, receive data from and senddata and commands to system components.

Additional components of a preferred embodiment of the present inventioninclude one or more cassette trays 30, having harness connectorreceptacles 32 for holding in place one or more harness connectors 40.Cassette trays 30 may be stored in a cassette tray holder 34, which mayinclude a top compartment or stabilizer 48 (such as a piece of foam) toprevent movement or jostling of the additional cassette trays duringtransport.

When the computer 16 indicates that a specific cassette tray is requiredfor a selected wire harness assembly job, that cassette tray 30 isretrieved from the holder 34 by the user and placed on a cassette trayplatform 36 for use in securing the necessary wire harness connector 40.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 5, the cassette trayplatform 36, may be affixed to the case 12, nominally 1/16^(th)-inchbelow the surface of the case. This tray platform has an opening cut-out88 that is large enough to allow the light beam from the light source 84mounted on the translating X-Y gantry carriage 82 below or behind theharness connector 40 to address and illuminate every individualpin-cavity in the connector 40, one at a time, in a completelyunobstructed manner. The cassette tray platform may also be equippedwith a center locating pin 37 (FIGS. 1-3 and 5) and a small indexing pin86, which may be located near the perimeter of the cassette trayplatform (as shown in FIG. 5).

Taken together, the center locating pin 37 and the perimeter indexingpin 86 of the cassette tray serve two functions. First, they are used toensure that, during wire insertion, the cassette tray 30 remains firmlystationary i.e. it does not rotate relative to the tray platform 36.Second, they ensure that the connector receptacle 32 in the cassettetray 30 and the connector 40 sitting in that receptacle 32 in thecassette tray are both linearly aligned with the translational gantrycarriage 82 below the surface to allow the illuminating light 84 toposition itself precisely under the designated pin cavity in theconnector 40.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, the connectortray has a center locating hole 38 and a small perimeter indexing hole39 located next to each connector receptacle 32. When the tray 30 isplaced in the tray platform 36, the center pin 37 of the tray platformsits in the center hole 39 of the cassette tray, and the small indexingpin 86 sits in the perimeter indexing hole 39. This two-pin mechanism,or any similar alignment mechanism, ensures there is no relativerotational movement between the cassette tray 30 and the tray platform36.

In another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 for purposesof illustration, there are separate cassette trays for male connectors(also called plugs, FIG. 7) and female connectors (also called sockets,FIG. 9). The difference between the trays 30 for the male and femaleconnector types lies in the mechanisms for locking the connector 40 intoplace in the corresponding cassette tray 30. In other embodiments, bothplug and socket receptacles may be integrated within a single cassettetray, depending on user preference.

Further, each male (plug) wire harness connector 40, an example of whichis shown in FIG. 7, may be equipped with a few smaller, narrow tabs orribs 43 and one larger, wider tab or rib 45. Its correspondingreceptacle 32 in the designated cassette tray 30 (FIG. 6) has a matchingslot or notch 35 configured to receive the wider tab or rib and whereinthe wider tab or rib is seated.

In a similar manner, each female (socket) wire harness connector 40, anexample of which is shown in FIG. 9, may be equipped with a few smaller,narrow slots or notches 46 and one larger, wider slot or notch 47. Itscorresponding receptacle 32 of the designated cassette tray 30 may havea matching tab or rib 41, as shown in FIG. 8. Female receptacleconnectors will always be equipped with at least one notch, and whenthey are equipped with more than one notch, one of the notches will belarger and configured to fit onto a rib or tab of a cassette receptacle32.

These male (FIGS. 6-7) and female (FIGS. 8-9) tab-slot pairings ensurethat once the connector 40 is seated in its designated receptacle 32, itcannot have any rotational movement. Taken together, the precedingdescriptions of cassette tray platform, cassette tray and wire harnessconnector locking mechanisms accomplish a precise X-Y axis alignment foreach connector pin-hole cavity receptacle 42 (FIGS. 11,12) in theconnector over the illuminating light source 84, to guide wire insertionand perform diagnostics to ensure error-free wire-insertion.

In addition, each cassette tray may be equipped with an indexing hole 39at the outer perimeter of the cassette tray 30, with each such indexinghole placed near the corresponding harness connector receptacle 32, andthe cassette tray platform 36 (FIG. 5) may have a corresponding indexingpin 86, configured to fit into the indexing holes 39 and enable thecassette tray to easily lock into place for a selected harness connectorreceptacle 32. In some preferred embodiments, instead of a fixedindexing pin, the cassette tray platform 36 may be equipped with aspring-loaded indexing pin, designed to fit into the indexing holeswhile allowing the user to easily spin the cassette tray in placethrough each lockable indexed position on the cassette tray platform 36.The spring-loaded indexing pin may have a sloped top surface forming awedge shape, to enable the cassette tray to more easily spin in apreferential direction.

As previously discussed, in certain preferred embodiments the cassettetray platform 36, cassette tray 30 and the two-axis translational stageor gantry 80 (FIGS. 13-16) may comprise an independent, separateinsertion stage module, which comprises the cassette tray, stacked ontop or in front of a connector tray platform that is in turn placedabove or in front of an illuminating light source 84 that is mounted oncarriage 82 of an X-Y translation gantry 80.

The case or box 12 may further include a multi-use storage area 70(FIGS. 1-3, 10, 15 and 17) with a locking mechanism 72, configured tosecure items such as a power cord, additional cassette trays 30, harnessconnectors 40, a foot switch 4 and other equipment that may be usefulfor the purposes of completing a wire harness assembly job.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention may further include aharness connector clamp, which, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, may include aclamp bar 50 with a clamp bar fork 52 for fitting around the rim of theharness connector 40, a rear fulcrum 54, a wing nut 56 and locking bolt58.

To lock a harness connector into the harness connector receptacle of acassette tray 30, the user would first place the harness connector 40into the harness connector receptacle 32. Next, the user would set theheight of the rear fulcrum 54, by tightening the jack screw, and set thetines of the clamp bar fork 52 around the rim of the harness connector.Lastly, the user would connect the wing nut 56 to the locking bolt 58and tighten the wing nut until the clamp bar is firmly locked intoplace, preventing the harness connector from moving.

The foregoing is only an exemplary description of a method to secure theharness connector to the cassette tray. Alternatively, other means ofsecuring the connector may be employed. As another example, instead ofthe harness connector clamp as depicted in the figures, the system mayinclude a system of side clamps or a chuck to affix the harnessconnector in place. Any and all means for affixing and locking harnessconnectors in place, as are well known in the art, are intended to beincluded as potential variants of the connector holding mechanism.

The apparatus and system of the present invention also includes a wiremarking reader 60, (alternatively called a “Viewer”) comprising one ormore of a camera, an imaging device or other suitable non-contact sensorapparatus, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,936,725A, 6,122,045A,and 6,233,350B1, which are herein incorporated by reference in theirentirety. Further, the wire marking reader 60 is configured to detectand capture images of the wire markings included on the wire covering(insulation or a sleeve thereon) of a wire 62. As mentioned above, theviewer of the present invention overcomes the challenges faced byconventional systems, by providing a full 360-degree view around thewire, and providing accurate machine reading of the wire markings.

In addition, in a preferred embodiment, the wire marking reader 60 mayinclude a set of wire grippers designed to accommodate a range of wirediameters. The wire grippers may be configured to grip a wire and holdit in place for optimal image capture. Three or more views fromdifferent angles cover the entire surface of the wire to provide a full360-degree view of the wire. In addition, the viewer module incorporatesa telecentric configuration of the image detectors/cameras, whereby themagnification of the wire image remains independent of the distance fromthe wire to the center of the viewer module reader.

In addition, the system software can be configured to give features andcharacters within an image proper size, shape and orientation byimplementing manipulations of the captured image, including withoutlimitation, de-curving the wire, de-rounding the wire and stretchingedges near the horizon of the wire. The system software may further beconfigured to flip mirror images, ensure magnification matching,differentiate darkness and/or intensity between the wire manufacturer'smarkings and the aircraft manufacturer's markings on the wires, removewire stripes and recombine features found in the three or moredifferently angled views of the 360-degree wire surface, i.e., reconnectcharacter lines severed by the three or more different views. The numberof cameras and views employed may be arbitrary, so long as the full360-degree surface of the wire is encompassed by those views.

The system may also include an image capture button 64 configured toenable a user to capture an image of the wire markings displayed on thecomputer screen. Further, the system may be enabled to allow a user touse a touch screen, a foot switch 4, a keyboard 6 or a microphone forvoice activated commands to control the system or some other means tocapture images of wire markings.

The apparatus, system and process of the present invention facilitatethe manufacture of wire harnesses by providing a user with automatedidentification of wire markings and illumination of correspondingpin-hole receptacles for wire insertion. As shown in FIGS. 11-12, theharness connector 40 has multiple pin-hole receptacles 42 and anilluminated pin-hole receptacle 44 directs the user to the correctpin-hole receptacle for wire insertion.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS.13-15, illumination of the pin-hole receptacle is accomplished using atwo-axis translation stage or gantry 80, which includes a carriage 82and one or more light sources 84 mounted onto the carriage. The gantry80 is a conventional gantry system and also includes typical componentssuch as motors 90 (e.g., stepper motors, screw motors or worm gears) andbelts 92 (see FIGS. 13-14).

In a preferred embodiment, the light sources emit green light (e.g., at550 nm). Light sources may be lasers, LEDs, LECs or other suitableemitters of visible electromagnetic radiation. In a preferredembodiment, the light sources comprise bright or ultra-bright LEDs,making the system safe for users' eyes as opposed to laser lights.

The present invention also comprises a process to facilitate assembly ofa wire harness, including the automated wire marking identification andpin-hole receptacle illumination for insertion of corresponding wiretips or wire pins. This process of automated wire marking identificationand illumination of the corresponding pin-hole receptacle is repeateduntil all the wires are inserted and assembly of the selected wireharness connector is completed.

The process is implemented by a computer-enabled system that stores andmaintains information in a database structure on a storage drive orother non-transitory computer readable medium. The storage drive ornon-transitory computer readable medium is connected to the computer,which includes at least a power source, a processor and one or more datainputs and data outputs. The information stored in the database includesone or more of wire harness IDs, harness connector IDs, cassette trayIDs, wire IDs, colors and pattern wire marking identifiers included onwire coverings, pin-hole receptacle IDs, pin-hole receptacle XYcoordinates, pin-hole wire connections, user credentials and wireharness job tables, etc.

The storage drive or non-transitory computer readable medium alsocontains a set of process instructions that are executed by theprocessor to cause the system to implement the process steps of thepresent invention. These process steps include: prompting a user to loginto the system, after which the user logs in with their user logincredentials. Next, the system prompts the user to enter or select from agroup of choices a wire harness ID for the wire harness that the userneeds to build.

The system then registers the wire harness ID entered or selected andestablishes a wire harness job table including the set of discrete tasksrequired to complete the wire harness assembly. A harness connector IDcorresponding to the selected wire harness ID is identified. Eachdifferent wire harness connector has some number (n) of pin-holereceptacles. Some or all of those pin-hole receptacles may need to havea wire tip or wire pin inserted. In cases where not all of the pin-holesreceive a wire tip or wire pin, some or all of those pin-holes may beleft open or receive a stopper plug to prevent incorrect insertion of awire tip or pin.

Next, the system identifies a cassette tray ID for a cassette traydesigned to hold the designated harness connector. Harness connectorsmay comprise male (plugs) or female (sockets), and, for efficient spaceutilization, the cassette tray is equipped with one or morecorresponding harness connector receptacles configured to hold a harnessconnector, corresponding to a selected wire harness ID.

Then, after identifying the necessary wire harness connector and therequired cassette tray, the system prompts the user to retrieve theidentified cassette tray and place it in a cassette tray platformlocated above a two-axis translation stage. Again, these components maybe assembled into an independent, stand-alone insertion stage module.Following which, the system prompts the user to retrieve the identifiedharness connector and place it in the appropriate harness connectorreceptacle of the cassette tray. As described above, the variouspotential configurations male and female tab-slot pairings between thecassette tray receptacles and the wire harness connectors ensure thatonce the connector is seated in its designated receptacle, it will notexperience any rotational movement.

In the process of the present invention, the system also identifies aset of (x) number of wire IDs corresponding to (x) number of wiresincluded in the wire harness. The system also loads into the wireharness job table at least the sets of wire IDs, wire markingidentifiers including one or more of colors and patterns, pin-holereceptacle IDs and pin-hole receptacle XY coordinates corresponding tothe entered wire harness ID, and other data required for wire harnessassembly.

Next, the processor executes a series of instructions causing the systemto iterate the following steps, until all wires have been correctlyinserted into their respective pin-hole receptacles in the harnessconnector and assembly of the wire harness is completed.

-   -   1. the system prompts the user to insert a wire into the wire        marking reader    -   2. the system uses the wire marking reader to detect one or more        color and pattern wire markings included on the wire covering        such as insulation or sleeve.    -   3. the wire marking reader sends a data set describing the one        or more colors and patterns detected as one or more computer        data inputs to the wire databases.    -   4. the system determines a wire ID based on the one or more        color and pattern markings detected.    -   5. the system determines the pin-hole receptacle ID and the set        of pin-hole XY coordinates corresponding to the wire ID for the        wire to be inserted into the pin-hole.    -   6. the system moves the translation stage from its present        position to the position of the XY coordinates for the        respective pin-hole.    -   7. the system switches on one or more light sources mounted to a        translation stage carriage to illuminate and highlight the        pin-hole from below.    -   8. the system prompts the user to insert the wire into the        illuminated pin-hole receptacle.    -   9. the system prompts the user to confirm insertion of the wire        into the pin-hole and upon receipt of confirmation the system        marks the task of inserting the wire into its respective        pin-hole receptacle as completed in the wire harness job table.    -   10. the system then confirms whether there are any remaining        wire IDs corresponding to pin-hole receptacles that still need        to have a wire inserted and, if so, the system prompts the user        to insert the next wire into the wire marking reader and        continues to iterate this set of instructions until all the        wires are inserted and, if not, the system marks the wire        harness job as completed in the wire harness job table.

The software implemented by the system may be configured to read opticalcharacter recognition fonts, such as OCR-A and OCR-B, or other fontsamenable to character recognition and machine reading. The system of thepresent invention only takes 5-10 seconds or even less from the time ofwire insertion into the wire reader 60 to produce over 90% accuracy inidentification of the wire marking. This accuracy depends in part on thewire diameter, as well as other relevant factors such as color,contrast, reflectivity, software training, etc.

The claimed invention may be expressed in alternative arrangements whilestill maintaining the spirit of its original purpose and fundamentalfeatures. The described embodiments explain but do not limit theinvention to the selected exemplary embodiments. Details concerning theinvention are covered in the appended claims rather than the previousdescription. Additional information in the claims concerning the presentinvention are to be realized to the extent of their own capacity.

Various modifications and variations of the described invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the invention. Although the disclosure has been describedin connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should beunderstood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited tosuch specific embodiments. Indeed, those skilled in the art willrecognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routineexperimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of theinvention described herein. Such equivalents are intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured to facilitate assembly of awire harness, including insertion of wires or wire tips into appropriateconnector pin-hole receptacles of a wire harness connector, comprising:a computer, including one or more computer memories comprisingnon-transitory computer-readable media, one or more computer processorsconnected to the non-transitory computer readable media, and one or moredisplays, each of the foregoing having one or more data inputs and oneor more data outputs; a wire marking reader having data input and dataoutput connections to the computer and configured to detect one or moreof a color and a pattern marking included on a wire covering, whichpattern marking comprises one or more of a wire striping pattern, a barcode, a QR code, a geometric pattern and one or more alphanumericcharacters, and to create and send a data set describing the one or morecolor and pattern markings detected to a computer data input, andwherein the computer is configured to identify a wire based on the oneor more color and pattern markings detected on the wire covering; acassette tray equipped with one or more harness connector receptacles,each configured to hold a harness connector; one or more harnessconnectors held in place by the one or more harness connectorreceptacles of the cassette tray; a two-axis translation stage havingdata input and data output connections to the computer, wherein thetranslation stage is located below the harness connector cassette trayand is configured to send a data set indicating one or more of a past, apresent and a future position of the translation stage to a computerdata input; one or more light sources mounted on the two-axistranslation stage, wherein the computer is configured to change theposition of the translation stage and locate the one or more lightsources precisely beneath one or more connector pin-hole receptacles,based on the wire identified, and wherein the computer is configured toswitch on and off the one or more light sources and illuminate the oneor more connector pin-hole receptacles from below as an indication ofthe pin-hole receptacle in which to insert the wire or wire tip.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the system is portable and further includesone or more of a case or other suitable container, such as a carryingcase, holding all of the components recited in claim
 1. 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the case or container further includes a top cover andattachments configured to hold one or more of a computer screen and/or atablet computer or smart phone on an underside of the top cover and akeyboard, and wherein the case or container further includes a cassettetray holder configured to hold one or more cassette trays.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the cassette tray is equipped with a centralaperture configured to receive a center locating pin enabling preciselocation of the cassette tray above the translation stage.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the cassette tray is equipped with one or moreindexing holes near the edge or perimeter of the cassette tray, whichholes are configured to receive one or more of a fixed or spring-loadedindexing pin, thereby enabling precise orientation of the cassette trayabove the translation stage.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more harness connector receptacles of the cassette tray furtherinclude one or more of tabs and notches configured to interface withrespective notches and tabs included in a corresponding harnessconnector, thereby enabling precise orientation of the harness connectorwith respect to the cassette tray and also with respect to thetranslation stage, and wherein the system further includes one or moreharness connector clamps configured to lock a harness connector in placewithin a harness connector receptacle of the cassette tray.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the system further includes one or more of atouch screen, keyboard, a microphone, voice command, a mouse, a footpedal, and an image capture button, configured to trigger the wiremarking reader to capture an image of a wire covering, including the oneor more color and pattern markings.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe wire marking reader is equipped with a set of auto-adjusting wiregrippers configured to hold wires in place.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the wire marking reader further includes a light sourceconfigured to illuminate a wire covering and wherein the wire markingreader implements a telecentric configuration whereby the magnificationof the wire image is made to be independent of the distance from thewire to the center of the reader.
 10. A process to facilitate assemblyof a wire harness, including insertion of wires or wire tips intoappropriate harness connector pin-hole receptacles, implemented by acomputer-enabled system and comprising the steps of: storing andmaintaining information in a database structure on a non-transitorycomputer readable medium, wherein the non-transitory computer readablemedium is connected to a computer that includes at least a power source,a processor and one or more data inputs and data outputs, and whereinthe information includes one or more of wire harness IDs, harnessconnector IDs, cassette tray IDs, wire IDs, colors and pattern wiremarking identifiers included on wire coverings, pin-hole receptacle IDs,pin-hole receptacle XY coordinates, pin-hole wire connections, usercredentials and wire harness job tables, and wherein the non-transitorycomputer readable medium also contains a set of process instructions;executing by the processor the set of process instructions stored on thenon-transitory computer readable medium, causing the system to implementthe following steps: prompting a user to log in to the system, using theuser credentials; prompting the user to enter a wire harness ID for awire harness the user needs to build; registering the entered wireharness ID; establishing a wire harness job table including the set ofdiscrete tasks required to complete the wire harness; identifying aharness connector ID corresponding to the selected wire harness ID,wherein the harness connector has (n) number of pin-hole receptacles;identifying a cassette tray ID, equipped with one or more harnessconnector receptacles, each harness connector receptacle configured tohold a harness connector, corresponding to the selected wire harness ID;prompting the user to retrieve the identified cassette tray, to placethe cassette tray in a cassette tray platform located above a two-axistranslation stage, to retrieve the identified harness connector and toplace the harness connector in the appropriate harness connectorreceptacle of the cassette tray; identifying a set of (x) number of wireIDs corresponding to (x) number of wires included in the wire harnessand loading into the wire harness job table at least the set of wireIDs, a set of wire marking identifiers including one or more of colorand pattern markings, a set of pin-hole receptacle IDs and a set ofpin-hole receptacle XY coordinates corresponding to the entered wireharness ID; iterating the following instruction set until all wires havebeen correctly inserted into their respective pin-hole receptacles inthe harness connector: prompting the user to insert a wire into a wiremarking reader, having data input and data output connections to thecomputer; detecting by the wire marking reader, one or more of a colorand a pattern marking included on a wire covering inserted into the wiremarking reader; sending from the wire marking reader to one or morecomputer data inputs a data set describing the one or more colors andpattern markings detected; determining a wire ID based on one or more ofthe colors and pattern markings detected; determining the pin-holereceptacle ID and the set of XY coordinates for the pin-hole receptacleID corresponding to the wire ID for the wire that will be inserted intothe respective pin-hole receptacle; moving the translation stage fromthe present position to a position corresponding to the XY coordinatesfor the respective pin-hole receptacle; switching on one or more lightsources mounted on the translation stage, wherein the one or more lightsources are configured to illuminate from below the respective pin-holereceptacle; prompting the user to insert the wire into the respectiveilluminated pin-hole receptacle; marking the task of inserting the wireinto its respective pin-hole receptacle as completed in the wire harnessjob table; confirming whether there are any remaining wire IDscorresponding to pin-hole receptacles that still need to have a wireinserted and, if so, prompting the user to insert another wire into thewire marking reader and continuing to iterate this set of instructionsuntil all the wires are inserted and, if not, marking the wire harnessjob as completed in the wire harness job table.
 11. The process of claim10, wherein the information stored and maintained in a databasestructure on the non-transitory computer readable medium furtherincludes pin-hole receptacle IDs for blocked pin-hole connections andthe process further includes the steps of: iterating the followinginstruction set until all stoppers have been correctly inserted intotheir respective blocked pin-hole receptacles in the harness connector:identifying one or more pin-hole receptacle IDs corresponding to up to(n−x) number of blocked pin-hole receptacles determined by the selectedwire harness ID, where ‘n’ is the number of pin-hole cavities includedin the connector and ‘x’ is the number of wires required for theselected harness connector; determining the pin-hole receptacle ID and acorresponding set of XY coordinates for the pin-hole receptacle ID for ablocked pin-hole receptacle; moving the translation stage from thepresent position to a position corresponding to the XY coordinates forthe respective blocked pin-hole receptacle; switching on one or morelight sources mounted on the translation stage, wherein the one or morelight sources are configured to illuminate from below the respectivepin-hole receptacle to be blocked; prompting the user to insert stopperinto the respective illuminated pin-hole receptacle; marking the task ofinserting the stopper into its respective pin-hole receptacle ascompleted in the wire harness job table; confirming whether there areany remaining pin-hole receptacle IDs corresponding to pin-holereceptacles that still need to have a stopper inserted and, if so,continuing to iterate this set of instructions and, if not, marking thetask of blocking the blocked pin-hole receptacles as completed in thewire harness job table.
 12. The process of claim 10, wherein the processfurther includes the step of prompting the user to confirm that the userhas placed the identified cassette tray in the cassette tray platformand that the user has placed the identified harness connector in theappropriate harness connector receptacle.
 13. The process of claim 10,wherein the process further includes the steps of confirming whether thewire ID of the wire inserted into the wire marking reader corresponds toa wire ID included in the wire harness job table, and if the wire IDcannot be determined based on the wire harness job table, indicating thewire as non-compliant for the present wire harness job and searching aglobal database for the wire ID.
 14. The process of claim 10, whereinthe process further includes the steps of: prompting the user to insertthe wire into the respective illuminated pin-hole receptacle and toconfirm when insertion is complete; determining whether insertion of thewire into the respective illuminated pin-hole receptacle has beencompleted using a sensor mounted on the translation stage and configuredto detect a reflection of light from the wire or wire tip inserted intothe illuminated pin-hole receptacle.